To find a gem in a quiet corner of the visitor-thronged Lake District is not easy, but this smart village inn in the lovely Lyth valley offers 'top-notch food', 'great service' and country-style bedrooms.

Banish images of fast-food outlets and slot machines when you break your journey at Tebay on wild and woolly Shap Fell, 60 miles from the Scottish border.

Refreshingly different from some more traditional Lake District offerings, this contemporary hotel is in a beautiful setting overlooking Grasmere.

With smartl interiors and imaginative, locally sourced, restaurant-quality food, this dog-friendly country inn on the Lowther Estate is a happy mix of pub informality and country-house comforts.

A Regency beauty with spectacular views from the balconies, this stylish, dog-friendly country-house hotel has a relaxed vibe, beautifully designed bedrooms, and a fine-dining restaurant.

Lakeland luxury at its finest comes courtesy of Gilpin, with its Michelin-starred dining, private hot tubs in the majority of its indulgent rooms and attentive staff. Its flagship rooms are extravagantly large glass-cube spa suites that extend over a pond and offer private garden, spa room and circular bath.

In a market town between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, this pub with rooms deftly mixes historic charm – beams, crackling fires and exposed stonework – with an updated, modern touch.

Bring the dog, bring the kids, revel in the gorgeous scenery and the great outdoors at this ‘lifestyle hotel’ with private shorefront on Ullswater and plenty of activities on offer. It's the old, staid Rampsbeck Hotel reinvented (out with the chintz and swags, on with the wetsuits or hiking boots!)

Cosy, low-ceilinged and fire-warmed, this smartly refurbished 17th-century pub in the centre of a Lake District village has walks from the door and is just a short stroll from the Michelin-starred restaurant at Askham Hall (see entry).

Outside Grasmere's village centre, this period property boasts original Victorian features alongside boutique decor in the bedrooms.

A 'sprawling, traditional building in a beautiful setting' at the tip of Windermere, this family and dog-friendly hotel has easy access to lake-based activities as well as a spa.

In the tranquil Lorton Vale north of Buttermere, this whitewashed farmhouse B&B and popular wedding venue with lawned gardens mixes rustic authenticity with modern comforts in its spacious bedrooms with oak beams, exposed stone and antiques.

Hrishikesh Desai's innovative, Michelin-starred cooking is just one of the attractions at this luxury country-house hotel in beautifully maintained gardens deep in the Cumbrian countryside.

A relaxing base in the rugged Western Lake District, this secluded family-run B&B has six spacious, sleek and stylish suites, some with patio, some dog friendly, with the bonus of an honesty bar, outdoor hot tub, spectacular mountain views and starry dark skies.

Once home to naturalist and cartographer Joseph Flintoft, this Victorian gentleman's residence on the lower slopes of Skiddaw is a family owned and run hotel with bedrooms mixing traditional and contemporary style, a menu of classic and more contemporary dishes, and great walks from the doorstep.

Every bedrooms is special at this impressive red-sandstone mansion, home to a dog-friendly, country-house guesthouse on a wooded estate overlooking the River Eden, where at night in the elegant dining room, guests sit down to a home-cooked dinner of locally sourced produce.

With shimmering views over Morecambe Bay, this Victorian villa in almost an acre of garden has a timeless ambience, with traditional bedrooms, a real fire on cold days, and meals alfresco when the sun shines.